County will pay for repairs along Fourth Street in Martin Township

The Allegan County Road Commission determined Thursday that it will pay for repairs along a nearly two-mile stretch of Fourth Street from 120th Avenue to 124th Avenue, saving Martin Township an estimated $3,500.

The decision comes a day after the Township Board voted unanimously to approve the repairs at its board meeting.

Township Supervisor Glenn Leep said the $3,500 will help fund construction on Eighth Street from 116th Avenue to 118th Avenue, a project the board recently learned is 25 percent over its $319, 693 budget.

“There’s plenty to do on Eighth Street,” Leep said. “We’re just hoping we have enough money to pave it all this year. If costs are too high, we won’t be able to finish paving it.”

Although Fourth Street was paved just over five years ago at a cost of almost $500,000, 2-inch cracks have been forming along the pavement.

“There are cracks a couple inches wide going pretty much straight across the road every 500 or 600 feet over that stretch,” Township Trustee Jack Sipple said. “It doesn’t look like it should be going that bad that quickly, but we want to save the road before it gets any worse.”

After meeting with potential contractors, Township Trustee Jim Brenner said the recommended fix is using tar to fill in and waterproof the cracks this year and returning in 2014 to put another layer of seal over the chipped pavement.

Allegan County Commissioner Don Black agreed that the most cost-effective solution for a newer road is sealing the cracks, rather than pouring new pavement.

“If we put seal on those roads for the cracks, we save 25 percent of the costs, and we can maintain them for anywhere between four and 10 more years, depending on how they can hold up,” Allegan County Commissioner Don Black said. “We get the most out of our investment if we put money toward saving the roads until they get so bad that we have to grind them down and resurface them.”